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Of Ends and Beginnings – Italia, Weeks 12-16…the Final Chapter

benhoak — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:24:06 +0000

Research papers have dominated April. I have an 8-12 page one due in all three of my classes. I journeyed to Assisi on April 10th. It was a fascinating town and seems to have more churches per capita than Rome. I personally did not think that was possible. I found several interesting museums, one of which was the excavations of tunnel systems used by the early Church, similar to the catacombs.

After another week of papers, AIFS had its spring dinner party. Almost the entire program attended the banquet thrown for us at the Hotel Marriott on the seventh floor balcony. We had a very good time.

That weekend, I went to Tarquinia on a class field trip to explore ancient Etruscan tombs and visit a museum of Etruscan ruins. Yes, it was boring, but getting out of Rome for another weekend was pleasant.

As soon as I returned, it was back to research papers. But they were soon finished and I took my final in Italian that week as well. At the end of the week, some family friends vacationing in Italy arrived in Rome and I enjoyed their company for the couple days they spent in the Eternal City.

The last week of April and the final week of classes was one of the easiest. I went to see the Holy Father twice that week, both at his Sunday and Wednesday audiences. It was such a wonderful experience to hear him speak to us in seven different languages (English included) and reveal his love of cappuccino. Towards the end of the week, half the program roster crammed themselves into our apartment for a party.

On Saturday (May 1), I spent the day riding both lines of the metro to (almost) every stop outside the city center. There was not much interesting to be found, but it was a fun adventure nonetheless. On Sunday, my last in Rome, I attended Mass at St. Peter’s once again, just as I had my first Sunday in Rome.

Finals consumed me from Monday to Wednesday. I’ve never had such mixed feelings about being finished with a semester as this one. I’ve spent the last few days walking all over the city, buying last minute souvenirs, seeing all my favorite sights, just one last time.

But three months ago today, I tossed a coin in the Trevi fountain, and by local legend, that ensures my return to Rome. So maybe I’m not saying goodbye to Rome, but just “see you later.”

Home – it is both what I leave today, and what I return to …

“But What Did the Floor Look Like?” — My Parents in Italy

benhoak — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:00:35 +0000

David Bertschinger is a KWC junior majoring in physics. He is spending the Spring 2010 semester studying in Rome and is providing regular updates to KWConnect. To see all of his entries, click here.

The morning of April 1st, my parent arrived in Rome. Meeting them at Termini Station was such a great moment. We walked back to my apartment and I showed them where I’d been living for the past two months. Afterwards, all three of us walked to the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Getting to show them the exciting things that littered my backyard was very exciting. We then retrieved their luggage and trekked to our hotel. We attended Mass that evening at a beautiful local church a few blocks from us.

The next morning, we enjoyed the delicious breakfast buffet at our hotel. We walked down the front of St. Peter’s to go on our tour of the Vatican Museum. The museum was probably the most expansive one I’ve been to in Europe. While seeing more statues, paintings, and pottery did not much excite me, hanging with my parents made it a lot more fun.

The “reward” for hiking through the entire museum was seeing the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, I have not a single memory of what its floor looked like. The ceiling was fairly impressive, though.

Afterwards, we walked back and enjoyed our hotel’s outdoor courtyard to relax. We hopped on the Metro and headed to St. John Lateran, one of the four papal basilicas and the seat of the Pope. Good Friday service was a grandiose event, as to be expected, attended by deacons, priests, bishops, and cardinals from all over Rome.

After another amazing breakfast the next morning, we once again walked down to St. Peter’s, this time going inside and exploring the amazing cathedral. We walked around the crowded basilica for a while before getting in the long line to head to the cupola, the very top of the dome. An elevator ride and over 300 steps later, we reached the breathtaking (I use that word a lot, don’t I?) summit. As usual, words cannot describe the view, ergo, I took plenty of pictures.

After we walked down, we trotted over to the best gelato place in Rome near the Coliseum and then to St. Mary Major. We found Easter Vigil Mass to be at an acceptably early time, so after changing and relaxing back at the hotel, we came there for yet another impressive Mass, headed up with another great sampling of Church hierarchy.

On our last day in Rome together, we returned to the church we attended Thursday night for Easter Sunday Mass. Afterwards, we hopped the Metro to St. Paul outside the walls, so that we had visited all four papal basilicas.

The day was very relaxing and bittersweet, as my parents were set to leave early the next morning. We had dinner near the Coliseum and then headed back to our hotel. Saying goodbye was difficult, but I’ll be home soon enough.

For more photos of the adventures described here, check out the latest in the “KWC in Rome” set on KWC’s Flickr channel.

KWC in Rome: Applying and Preparing

benhoak — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:24:38 +0000

David Bertschinger is a KWC junior majoring in physics. He is spending the Spring 2010 semester studying abroad in Rome. He will be providing regular updates to KWConnect.

Filling out the AIFS application was not as complicated as you would think. They required one brief essay and one teacher recommendation, along with forms to be filled out by other teachers and faculty. Plane tickets, meal vouchers and housing are all included in the AIFS package. I enrolled by an early deadline of July 1st (the regular one is October 15th) to receive a promotional offer of 200 Euros free spending money when I get to Italy. After I was accepted into the program, there were more forms to fill out and much more literature to read.

The biggest challenge was to obtain a visa, but even this went without complication. AIFS supplied a guide to filling out the application for a visa. The process includes required travel to the Italian consulate that covers your jurisdiction. In my case, the consulate that covers Kentucky is in Detroit. This process can only be completed within 90 days before leaving, so my father and I went there in mid-November, after AIFS supplied me with the necessary forms and letters.

I have spent the past months reading up on Italy and Rome, organizing things to pack and eagerly awaiting my plane ride out of the United States. Just recently I received my final package from AIFS, which included my plane tickets, an itinerary, and contact information for overseas and of my fellow travelers.

Now all that lies before me is to pack for this adventure and board a plane in St. Louis and then again in Chicago that will take me across the Atlantic. I will first spend a few days in London before flying to Florence, Italy, for a two-week orientation program, and then on to Rome to start classes for the semester at the beginning of February.

Wish me luck, and be sure to check out my future notes about my adventures over there!

KWC in Rome

benhoak — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:10:15 +0000

David Bertschinger is a KWC junior majoring in physics. He is spending the Spring 2010 semester studying abroad on the campus of Richmond University in Rome. He will be providing regular updates to KWConnect. This is his first installment.

Studying abroad has long been a goal of mine. Over three years ago, I began my college search (September of 2006). Little did I know a hunt that took me around the entire Midwest would land me less than three miles from my house at Kentucky Wesleyan.

From the very beginning, one of my important criteria for a college was a good study abroad program. I even applied for a study abroad scholarship at the University of Illinois, a top contender at the time. I finally settled on Kentucky Wesleyan, and this goal was set aside for a time, but not forgotten.

Early on, my plan was only to stay at KWC for three years or less. This set back my study abroad semester to when I was to go to the aforementioned University of Illinois. However, when my plans changed to stay and graduate from KWC, I realized my study abroad plans would also have to be revised. Numerous changes in my academic schedule made this seem like a daunting task.

In the middle of my sophomore year, my parents drew my attention to the imperative nature of finalizing my academic schedule so that I could spend a semester in another country. After many visits with the Academic Dean and emails to my advisor, Dr. Johnson on sabbatical at the University of Kentucky, my class schedule for the next two years was chiseled out so that a semester of my junior year was freed from classes at KWC. However, this required me to take two upper level classes over the summer (Calculus IV and Differential Equations) and pack 18 hours into this past fall semester.

In February, I obtained an application for study abroad from Pam Parr, our academic support advisor at KWC. KWC required an application, mostly for scholarship purposes. I had looked over a program book from the American Institute for Foreign Study, and I decided on their Rome experience. While it was a top contender with other locations, the class “Religions and Cults of Ancient Rome” offered there sold me on that program. Needless to say, I am enrolled in it right now.